Spark brings high speed mobile broadband to rural NZ

Spark New Zealand
announced today that it has begun its rollout of 4G services
on the recently acquired 700MHz spectrum in the Waikato,
enabling 12 sites with 4G in the region.

Following a
successful trial earlier this year Spark, in conjunction
with Huawei Technologies has now livened up sites with 4G in
Te Aroha, central Hamilton, Morrinsville, Mystery Creek and
other surrounding areas in the Waikato - allowing customers
to access high speed mobile broadband over the 700 MHz
spectrum.

Spark Networks Chief Operating Officer, David
Havercroft, said: “Today marks the start of an accelerated
rollout of 4G services to regional New Zealand. Over the
next few months we’ll continue to widen our 4G footprint
in the Waikato region, including the Coromandel, and will
bring this technology to existing sites by February
2015.

“Before Christmas this year we’ll also extend
our coverage to Rotorua, enabling 4G over 700MHz in the
northern part of the region, building on our existing 4G
coverage in central Rotorua on the 1800MHz spectrum. This is
part of our broader plan to extend 4G on the Spark Network
to a range of other locations across the country.”

Mr
Havercroft says customers in rural areas can now begin to
take advantage of the many benefits Spark’s 4G network
provides - particularly faster speeds.

“We made a
significant investment in the recent government auction to
secure more spectrum blocks in the 700 MHz range than any
other provider. The more spectrum a mobile operator has the
faster the speeds it can offer to its customers and the more
data it can carry. So, for our customers this will mean
significantly faster access to online content on their
mobile devices, wherever they’re located in 4G coverage
areas.”

Mr Havercroft says the investment in and rollout
of its 4G services is just another sign of Spark New
Zealand’s commitment to providing high speed mobile
broadband to rural customers throughout New Zealand.

“Rural communities are the engine rooms of our economy.
We know rural customers and agribusinesses in these
communities need access to fast mobile data so they can tap
into the latest technologies, driving greater efficiencies
and giving them the means to explore new opportunities.
We’re excited to be enabling that.”

Currently
customers can access 4G on 700 MHz using two smartphones -
the HTC One (M8) and the Samsung Galaxy S5 (G900i*).

“We paid a premium price to secure spectrum on our
preferred lower end of the 700 MHz band, which closely
aligns with the spectrum allocated in Australia. This gives
us confidence in the compatibility that new devices will
have with our network. By the end of the year we will range
around 10 devices that work on the 700 MHz
spectrum.”

* Samsung Galaxy S5 G900i – this model
refers to the newest version of the Samsung Galaxy S5 now
available in Spark stores nationwide and
online.- ends –

Notes
to editors:1. To access 4G on the 700MHz
spectrum customers will need to have a mobile device that is
compatible. Currently Spark has two mobile devices that will
work on 700MHz - the HTC One (M8) and the Samsung Galaxy S5
(G900i*).2. Spark is continuously adding to its
range of mobile devices and by the end of the year it will
have around 10 devices that will work on the 700 MHz
spectrum.BackgroundThe lower the
radio spectrum frequency, the better its signal propagation
characteristics. In the case of 4G mobile, a 700 MHz cell
site will cover an area 4-6 times larger than an equivalent
1800 MHz cell site and a 700 MHz signal will propagate
through the walls of buildings 4-6 times better than an 1800
MHz signal.

That’s why 700MHz spectrum is the
“beachfront property” of 4G mobile. It’s this 700 MHz
spectrum that will enable 4G mobile to be delivered as a
high quality data service nationwide. There is only 45 MHz
of bandwidth available for use in the 700 MHz spectrum band.
Spark bought 20 MHz, Vodafone 15 MHz and 2Degrees 10 MHz.

For 4G mobile devices to work on the 700 MHz band, they
need to be equipped with the appropriate antennae and radio
equipment. Early deployments of 700MHz around the world are
mostly at the lower end of the spectrum range. So having
spectrum at the lower end is a big advantage for accessing a
wider range of devices during the first few years of 700MHz
4G.

Furthermore in New Zealand’s most important roaming
market, Australia, only the lower end of the spectrum was
purchased in their auction. This compatibility is expected
to improve the roaming experience for Spark
customers.

Although the superior 700MHz spectrum holding
gives Spark a significant advantage, it doesn’t mean
switching off 1800MHz for 4G. Spark will continue to use
1800MHz as well as 700MHz to give customers the best
possible coverage. In addition, Spark also made carrier
aggregation technology live on six of its 4G mobile sites
located in Auckland earlier this year. Carrier aggregation
allows mobile users to access two mobile spectrum bands
simultaneously over their mobile devices giving them a
significant increase in speeds. In this case the 1800MHz and
2600MHz spectrum bands are used.

Spark launched 4G
services utilising existing spectrum in the 1800MHz range in
Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in November last year
and has continued to rapidly extend its 4G footprint into
many other parts of New Zealand using this spectrum
throughout 2014.

The whitebait fry - considered a delicacy by many - are the juveniles of five species of galaxiid, four of which are considered threatened or declining. The SMC asked freshwater experts for their views on the sustainability of the whitebait fishery and whether we're doing enough to monitor the five species of galaxiid that make up whitebait. More>>

The New Zealand government's accounts recorded a smaller-than-forecast deficit in the first four months of the fiscal year on a higher-than-expected inflow of corporate and goods and services tax. More>>

Steel & Tube Holdings, along with two other companies, will be prosecuted by the Commerce Commission following the regulator's investigation into seismic steel mesh, while Fletcher Building's steel division has been given a warning. More>>

• For car owners, a 13% reduction in the average Motor Vehicle levy • For businesses, a 10% reduction in the average Work levy, and changes to workplace safety incentive products • For employees, due to an increase in claims volumes and costs, a 3% increase in the Earners’ levy. More>>